The Book of Love
by Hermies818
Summary: A love story between Kensi and Deeks, made up of drabbles to the tune of 'The Book of Love' by Peter Gabriel. I own nothing.
1. The Book of Love is Long and Boring

_Kensi and Deeks on Stakeout _

* * *

"God I hate stakeouts!" Deeks wined. He and Kensi were sitting in front of the house of a suspected arms dealer and had been doing so for the past 4 hours, a fact that was beginning to wear on both of them. "It would be so much better if there was an actual steak involved."

"Well you should have eaten before we came here." Kensi remarked, her eyes still glued to the suspects house.

"I did, and it was delicious." He grinned as he moved a hand to her shoulder.

"Deeks stop it!" She laughed, only partly serious as he moved his mouth to her other shoulder, his scruff tickling her skin.

"You're beautiful, you know that?" He smiled as she blushed.

"And you're impossible." She countered, much to his delight. To anyone else it would look like she had insulted him, but to them it was just how they worked.

His hand moved from her shoulder and entwined with hers. "You're beautiful, and bad ass, and I love you." He took a deep breath, he had to approach this next one very carefully. "I love you, and I think we shouldn't have to hide it."

Her back stiffened and she untangled their hands. "You think we should tell them." It came out as more of a statement than a question.

"Don't you?" He pushed.

"Tell them what exactly Deeks?" She looked at him.

"I don't know, how about that we've been dating for the past 6 months, or that you are the love of my life, or maybe that we're going to be married in three months?" He ticked the reasons off his fingers.

Kensi was quiet for a moment before she let out a sigh. "You're right."

"I'm sorry what?" His eyes bugged out. "You mind repeating that?"

"Deeks." She warned but he took no notice.

"Hang on a sec, lemme get out my phone because I would absolutely love to have a ringtone of Kensi Blye telling me that I'm...wait, seriously?" His tone became more solemn.

"I want to tell them, it's just that..." She shifted in her seat so that she was facing him. "I kinda like this. You know, you, me, us, not having to worry what anyone else thinks. And I mean, it's not like we're out and out hiding it, they just haven't asked." She rationalized.

"Yeah but I don't want them to have to ask. I want to be able to hold your hand into work. I want to be able to sweep you into my arms after a hard mission. I want you to not have to take off your ring and put it around your neck every morning." He cupped her cheek with his hand. "While I do love the secret make out sessions in the closet and the delightfully inventive ways you bend in the showers, I want to be able to do this in front of the team."

He kissed her neck. Much to his delight she was unable to keep from releasing a surprised gasp. He grinned.

"And I want to be able to do this." He kissed her again, this time on her jaw bone.

"And this." On her cheek.

"And this." He whispered before kissing her passionately on the lips. For a second they both forgot to breathe as they lost themselves in each other. As the kiss intensified Kensi found herself wrapping her hair around her fingers and pulling him closer while his hands roamed her midsection.

"Deeks we need to stop." She muttered halfheartedly.

"Come on Kens, we've been watching the guy for four hours and he hasn't moved." He kissed her harder.

She pulled away and looked at the house for a moment before looking back at him.

"He's not going anywhere." She smiled as she undid her seatbelt and pulled him into the back seat.

* * *

**_No One Can Lift the Damn__ Thing_**


	2. No One Can Lift the Damn Thing

_The team helps Deeks and Kensi move into their new house._

* * *

"Ok guys, ready? One two three lift!" Deeks cried as he, Callen, Sam, and Eric all tried to lift the wrapped dinning room table off the truck. Kensi and Deeks had only just recently bought this new house which meant that today was moving day. They guys had been delegated to the heavy lifting, much to the protest of Deeks and Eric, while the girls were busy telling them where everything was supposed to go.

"Dear god I don't know if I can make it all the way into the dinning room!" Eric groaned.

"Hey, hey, hey. You drop this and I break your fingers." Sam threatened as he tried to reposition the awkwardly balanced load with limited success.

The table, a 14 foot, 210 lb, solid oak monstrosity, had been a housewarming gift from Hetty who had explained it by saying that every home needed a table for the family to gather around. Eric blanched at Sam's threat and tried to steady his grip. Unfortunately all the talk of where his hands were supposed to go left him not watching where his feet were going.

One slightly uneven space in the sidewalk got the better of him causing him to fall forward, shoving the table into the remaining three guys. Cries and shouts of alarm rang out as Deeks, Sam, and Callen all tried to keep the table from falling with little success. Right as they were about to drop it, two sets of hands shot out and grabbed the table. Deeks let out his breath and looked to see Nell and Kensi clutching the table for dear life. He shot his wife a cheeky grin.

"Nice catch Fern. You too Velma."

"Everyone ok?" Callen asked. "Eric?"

"I'm good." The tech analyst said as he picked himself up off the ground. "You guys good?"

Callen looked at the girls. "Good?"

"We're good." Kensi smiled and Nell gave an affirmative head nod.

"Now that you are all good," Hetty spoke from the doorway. "Do you think we can take this show inside?"

"Thanks for the help Hetty!" Sam grunted.

Hetty laughed and side stepped out of the way. "Anytime, Mr Hanna, anytime."

* * *

With the last bit of furniture off loaded and the daylight slowly fading, the group decided to call it a day and retreated into the homes living room. While it would eventually be a comfortable and homey living space, at the moment it was packed to the roof with boxes and the random bits of furniture that had made its way into the room had been commandeered by various members of the team and dragged into a circle around a bountiful helping of beer and cheeseburgers. Eric and Nell were cuddling in an oversized armchair, Hetty and Sam had planted themselves in two folding law chairs, Deeks opted for the floor with Kensi nestled in his lap, and Callen, preferring to stand, leaned up against the door frame.

"So how does it feel to be officially moved in you guys?" Called asked as he took a swig of beer.

"Ask us again when everything is actually unpacked and in its proper place." Deeks said between mouthfuls.

"Well I'm sure that if you both need help we would all be happy to lend our assistance again." Hetty volunteered.

"Yeah, it'll be fun!" Nell piped up.

"Uh hu, yeah, that's for the offer but after the incident today with Eric and the dinning room table I think we might just have to pass." Deeks smirked.

"I told you I tripped!" Eric defended himself.

"I don't know what y'all were complaining about, I had the whole thing totally under control." Sam scoffed.

"Oh yeah, I'm sure the girlish shrieks we heard weren't coming He-Sam over there at all." Kensi laughed.

"He-Sam? Really Kens? How long have you been sitting on that one?"

"I came up with it in the shower this morning." Kensi smirked.

"You think of Sam in the shower?" Called asked, an amused look on his face.

"Yeah you think of Sam in the shower? Deeks asked but his eyes shone with laughter. Not only did her recognize the answer, but he was completely certain that it wasn't Sam who had been occupying her time in the shower that morning, and he had the bite marks to prove it.

As the night wore on and the food rations diminished, Deeks rested his chin on top of his wife's head. This was his home, this was his family, this was his wife, and to him, this was his paradise.

* * *

**It's full of charts and facts and figures**


	3. Full of Charts and Facts and Figures

_Lawyer Deeks_

* * *

"Where's Shaggy?" Sam asked. It was nearly 10 and his desk still sat empty and while the laid back detective usually made it a habit to come in late, this was a little excessive, even for him.

"Maybe he's in with a girl and overslept." Callen suggested with a smirk that Sam returned. Kensi bristled slightly, not that she could show that for fear of outing their relationship.

"Naw, if he did that he'd be in here early to give us all the details." Sam laughed.

"Mister Deeks had been called back to the LAPD for an assignment for a few days." Hetty appeared. Kensi fought to keep from fingering the ring around her neck. She didn't like it when he had to go undercover for the LAPD, it meant she didn't have his back. "In the meantime, I believe Mr Beal and Miss Jones have a case that requires our attention." Hetty announced as she led the three of them upstairs.

* * *

Kensi and Nell walked through the halls of the LA county courthouse. The situation was doing it's best to make Kensi uncomfortable. It wasn't that she didn't enjoy working with Nell, it just felt weird working with the tech analyst and not her partner. They were attempting to find Arturo Ruiz's attorney, the last person he talked to before slashing the throat of a naval lieutenant and fleeing for parts unknown. They had already determined that he was likely still in LA, all that was left was to track him down.

Nell had gone off to search the lawyers office while Kensi was working on finding the man himself. Scanning the crowd of people, she wasn't exactly watching where she was going and plowed headlong into a man walking the opposite direction. She was preparing o ream the guy for not watching where he was going when her eyes met a pair of sky blue eyes and a mop of blonde hair.

"Deeks?"

"Kens?" He echoed, looking equally stunned.

"Andrew!" A voice called out. A female voice. A female voice attached to a very attractive woman in a tight grey dress. The woman walked up to the pair and laid her hand on his shoulder, an innocent enough gesture but one which made Kensi's blood boil. "We need to hurry, the hearing starts in a few minutes. Who's this?"

Deeks cleared his throat, feeling more than a little uncomfortable. "Delia, this is Fern Cole, my wife." He smiled at Kensi.

"I didn't realize you were married Andrew." Delia's voice took on a little bit of an edge.

"Well we haven't been for long." Kensi said, quickly slipping into her role. "We only just got back from the honeymoon."

Delia nodded but Kensi could see she wasn't totally buying it. "But you don't wear a ring Andrew. A handsome guy like you should always wear a ring, it lets us single girls know he's off the market." Her voice was sweet but Kensi could tell a challenge when she heard one. With a small smile she reached into her shirt and pulled out the necklace with her engagement ring and a small gold band on it.

"He's always misplacing his so I wear both of them around my neck." She smiled but her eyes screamed "back off".

Delia's smile faltered. Muttering some excuse about a file she turned on her heal and quickly stormed away.

"That was kinda hot, not gonna lie." Deeks smirked as he turned back to her. "What brings you to the courthouse?"

"Tracking down Arturo Mendez's lawyer, you?"

"Well, Andrew Cole is the prosecuting attorney in charge of discovering who's been paying off jurors and allowing cartel members to go free." Deeks flashed her a trademark grin.

"If I were you I'd start with Delia, she seemed awfully touchy with you." Kensi muttered, making Deeks chuckle.

"Too bad for her I am very, very taken." He smiled and pulled her close.

"Damn right you are." She smiled as he kissed her. Even though they'd kissed before, many, _many_ times before, Kensi was always amazed how his kisses could still make her head spin.

"Ahem!" Came a familiar voice. Kensi's and Deeks's heads popped up to discover Nell standing there, arms crossed and a small smile on her face. "You two got something you wanna share?"

* * *

**And instructions for dancing**


	4. And Instructions for Dancing

_Waltz Lessons_

* * *

"Remind me again why we have to do this?" Deeks whined.

Sam huffed. "Because Enrique Saliari is a judge for the dance competition so entering you and Kensi is the easiest way to get to him."

"I still don't see why I have to wear this tux. I mean, I know I look stunning but dancing in it?" Deeks complained as he tugged on his lapels.

"If you want to appear convincing Mr Deeks you and Ms Blye will have to get comfortable in your costumes." Hetty explained as she materialized behind the detective. The longer he worked here the more he was certain that the little ninja had the ability to teleport. "Now, if you will kindly accompany me to the gym, I believe Ms Blye is waiting for you." With a groan he followed her down the hall. A question about the necessity of the get up died in his throat when he caught sight of his partner.

While Deeks may have looked good in his tux, Kensi was sure to turn heads in a red version of Marilyn Monroe's white dress and glittering red high healed dancing slippers. Stunned, he stood frozen in the doorway, watching her sway to the music with her back to him, his mouth having dropped several inches. With sexy bedroom eyes, she turned her head over her shoulder and smiled at him, a look that made his heart race. How the hell was he supposed to control certain parts of himself when pressed up against this version of Kensi?

"Damn he was right, he does look breathtaking in that tux." Kensi thought as she looked at him in the doorway. "Thank god he can't read my mind right now or I'd never hear the end of it."

"Detective Deeks! So nice of you to join us!" Deeks suddenly found himself being pulled towards the makeshift dance floor by Raymond, their dance instructor. According to him he had won several high profile international dance competitions and according to Hetty he was once an undercover FBI agent, but right now all Deeks and Kensi thought he was was strange. "Ok now, you two foxes are going into the henhouse pretty soon so we need to polish, polish, polish this dance to a blinding perfection!" He gushed and pushed them together as Sam, Callen, Nell, and Eric entered the gym.

"Seriously guys?" Kensi asked.

"No way in hell am I missing this." Callen smirked as the others nodded. Kensi rolled her eyes and looked at Deeks who just shrugged.

The song of choice, as selected by Raymond, was 'I'm Not Sure Yet' by Andy Lange. After listening to it, Deeks thought it was a little on the nose but, you know, so be it (Hetty swore there was no relation between her and the singer but he wasn't convinced). Raymond hit a button and the dulcet music began to play. Taking a deep breath, they began to dance. Hours of practice and years of trust meant that they had the footwork down to the point that they began to forget about everything around them. Gradually the setting faded away until they were dancing all alone with only each other and their thoughts.

She looks so beautiful.

_He looks so handsome._

It would be so easy.

_Just to lean in and kiss him._

To kiss her.

_His lips look so soft._

Do I want to?

_Does he want me to?_

What if she doesn't feel like this?

_Can I risk this?_

But what if she does?

_What if he feels the same way?_

Is the team watching?

_Who cares if the team's watching?_

I've just got to lean in just a little.

_Is he leaning in? Oh god please let him be leaning in._

So easy.

_So simple._

To just kiss her.

_To just kiss him._

"That was excellent!" Raymond's voice shattered the revere. "The way you moved, the way you held her, and then the way you leaned in close for an intimate moment at the end! I can tell you both have been practicing!" He gushed.

Deeks looked at Kensi and could have sworn he saw the faintest hint of a blush in her cheeks. Was she thinking what he was thinking? No, of course not, that was crazy.

After a few seconds they realized they were still holding each other and quickly separated, each muttering apologies to the other.

"Ten bucks says they kiss at the competition." Callen whispered to Sam.

"What? No way!" The ex-seal shook his head. "20 says no."

"Are you serious? They came within an inch of doing it in front if us." Nell interjected. "I'm with Callen on this one."

"My money's with Sam. After the competition however..." Eric smiled.

"Oooo, that's a good point!" Nell agreed. "I changed my mind, 20 for night after competition."

Callen just laughed and shook his head as he watched the two youngest members of the team. It would happen, sooner or later, it was just a matter of time.

* * *

**But I Love it When You Read to Me**


	5. But I Love it When You Read to Me

_Kensi and Deeks read to their daughter_

* * *

Kensi woke up to cold sheets. She never woke up to cold sheets, not anymore at least. Confused, she threw back the bedding and reached for her robe. The clock on the bedside read shortly before midnight so the house was dark as she quietly made her way down the hall.

Living room? Empty.

Office? Nothing.

Kitchen? Monty was sleeping soundly in his bed, but no Deeks.

She checked the first bedroom. The floor was littered with all kinds of stuffed animals, gifts from Uncle Sam, while on the wall over the bed, a surfboard with a huge shark bite chunk missing from it was hung, a present from Uncle Eric. Kensi saw an adorable mop of curly blonde hair attached to the head of a normally rambunctious three year old as he slept soundly in his race car bed, Uncle Callen's contribution, teddy clutched tightly in his hand, but Deeks was nowhere in sight.

She smiled, she knew where he was. She gently opened the door to the second bedroom and, sure enough, there he was. There in the middle of a princess garden, decorations done by Aunt Nell, sat her husband. She sighed and her heart melted, she should have checked here first. He sat in a well worn rocking chair, a gift from Grandma Julia, gently rocking back and forth with a little bundle swaddled in pink in one arm and Goodnight Moon in the other.

Kensi leaned on the doorframe. Her her daughter Alice. Her son Dominik and her daughter Alice. Her husband Marty, her son Dominik, and her daughter Alice. Who would have thought that this would have ever been in the cards for her? Not her, certainly not her, but thank god she had been wrong.

He looked up and gave her a tired smile.

"She woke up a few minutes ago, and you just looked so beautiful I couldn't wake you." He said softly.

Alice Grace Deeks, born at 11:52 PM on January 3, was barely 5 months old and already she was the center of her fathers world. From the moment she first saw the doctor put the little girl into her husbands arms, Kensi could see that he was a goner. Dominik had taken after Deeks in the looks department, but Deeks already swore up and down that Alice looked like her mama. Dominik may have been mommy's little man, but Alice was defiantly daddy's little girl.

She smiled and rolled her eyes. "Here, keep reading but give her to me."

He gently handed off the tiny life to her. "Hi princess, hello my sweet, sweet girl. What say we get you to sleep?" She softly cooed as she began gently bouncing up and down and gave him a 'keep going' look. Deeks smiled and looked back at the book.

"Good night, room, Good night, moon,

Good night, cow jumping over the moon."

As he read Kensi began to slowly dance around the room, rocking their daughter back and forth. When he heard a little yawn emit from the baby in her arms, he set the book down and came up behind Kensi, they both knew this last part by heart.

"Good night, stars, Good night, air,

Good night, noises everywhere." They both recited to their little girl.

She watched as Alice's eyes closed. "Good night, sweet princess." She whispered as she gently placed her in the little crib. As she stood watching her Deeks quietly turned on the music box, a gift from Auntie Hetty, before wrapping his arms around her waste and resting his head on her shoulder. She reached up and grabbed his hand as she nuzzled into his neck.

"I love you Kensilina."

"I love you too." She turned in his arms until she was facing him and gave him a kiss. "Come on, let's leave her be." She smiled as they left the tiny infant sleeping peacefully.

* * *

**And You Can Read Me Anything**


	6. And You Can Read Me Anything

_Deeks reads Kensi old love notes_

* * *

"We are federal agents, we are highly trained federal agents who should be out in the field tracking down bad guys and instead what does Hetty have us do? She is having us spend our day off cleaning out her attic." Kensi fumed as she and Deeks rummaged through the piles of objects stored between the eves of the little ninja's historic mansion.

"Ok, wow, yeah. Keep rubbing in the federal agent thing. And might I point out that when she asked you were the one that volunteered us." Deeks responded from deep inside a trunk.

"She was looking right at me when she asked if anyone would help. You don't say no to Hetty, you just don't." Kensi rationalized as Deeks picked up an old paper weight, that was probably Waterford crystal if it was Hetty's, and started tossing it from one hand to the other.

"Cheer up, it's Hetty's attic so we, you know, might find the Irish Crown Jewels or the keys to the universe up here." He said only half jokingly as Kensi snatched the paperweight from him with an angry glare. "I'm gonna go work over here." He wisely moved to the opposite side of the attic, deciding it was probably best to give his partner some space. As he began rummaging through a box of old clothes, something at the bottom caught his eye. His eyes widened in surprise as he pulled out the offending item.

"Hey Fern, take a look at this." He called to her as he untied the bundle of letters and began to read one.

"What is that?" Kensi asked, referring to the note he was reading.

"It looks like an old love note, here listen to this." He leaned up against the wall.

_My dearest K,_

_How I long for those sacred hours we spent in Tuscany, how I yearn for those carefree days and those passionate nights. The feeling of your skin against mine, of your hand caressing my_

Deeks's face reddened as he abruptly stopped reading and tossed the letter away, instead choosing to pick up a different one. Quickly scanning it first for good measure, he cleared his throat and began again.

_My dearest K,_

_I have often paused to give passing thought to our days spent together, as I hope you have done the same. Our love was a wild and beautiful thing, the experience of which I will forever hold dear. I hope that whenever you hear that sweet song you will do as I do which is stop, and sigh, and smile._

_I love you my darling, now and forever. I will always keep the memory of your shining eyes and mischievous laugh close to my heart. I look out my window and I see that the olive branch we brought back has taken root and is growing into a healthy tree, it will serve as a perfect reminder of our time together._

_I have made my living being in love with people I don't love and becoming people I am not. I have been told I am quite good at it and have even brought it to a fine art. But you have broken down my defenses. And I don't really resent it._

Out of the corner of his eye, Deeks looked up at Kensi who was sitting on the floor, her eyes closed, her mind wrapped in an Italian romance of long past. He looked down at the letter, then looked back at her.

"Keep going." She instructed, eyes still shuttered. He looked at the letter again before setting it down and started again, never taking his eyes off of her.

_If circumstances allowed it, I know I would run to you now and sweep you into my arms. My love, oh my love, think of me fondly from time to time, as I will always think of you._

_Eternally yours,_

_M_

For a few moments the attic was quite, Deeks silently watching Kensi while her eyes remained shut. God she looked so beautiful up here, haloed with the golden sunlight from the windows and the specks of dust dancing around her. They both stayed perfectly still, making the moment go on and on and on.

"How's it going up here?" Hetty's voice broke the silence as the tiny woman seemed to step right out of the wall, causing Kensi to jump an impressive distance in the air when you consider she was sitting on the ground.

"Jesus H Christ! Hetty, how do you do that!" Kensi screamed.

"Where did you come from?" Deeks shouted simultaneously.

The little woman chuckled and waved her hand. "This house has several secret passageways. There just so happens to be one up here that connects to the library."

Her eyes settled on the letter in Deeks's hand and the bundle of letters still on top of the steamer trunk. "You found my letters from Brando!" She exclaimed as she picked up the remaining letters.

Deeks's eyes bugged. "Brando, M Brando, as in Marlin Brando?"

Hetty only smiled as a look of nostalgia washed over her face.

"You're kidding right?" Deeks looked at Kensi who just shrugged. "Right Hetty?" He turned to her but, the short woman only chuckled and said nothing.

"Wait, I thought you said those letters were addressed to a 'K'?" Kensi looked at Deeks, confused.

"Yes, 'K' for Kathleen Donner, an alias of mine long since put to rest." Hetty explained. "After my time in Italy, it just didn't feel right bringing her out again." The diminutive woman sighed wistfully before looking around the room. "Well, it appears you two still have quite a bit of work too do, I'll leave you too it."

Kensi gave a groan as Hetty swung open the secret passage door, letters still in hand. "Oh, Mister Deeks?" She turned back to him with a twinkle in her eye. "If you do find my spare keys to the universe up here, I trust you'll let me know."

* * *

**The Book of Love Has Music in it**


	7. The Book of Love Has Music in it

_Deeks plays the violin for Kensi_

* * *

She knew he could play, he'd said something to that effect at some point, but she'd never actually heard him play. He didn't own one, she'd been over to his place enough times to know that or, if he did, he kept it very well hidden. She didn't think he even played anymore, but she could tell he wanted to. He never outright said anything, probably for fear that she or they guys or his fellow cops at LAPD would mock him endlessly for it, and to be fair they probably would have, but she could still see the signs.

She saw it the time that they'd gone into a music store to interview the owner and he'd pretended to be interested in the guitars but his eyes kept wandering to what the store owner swore was a genuine Stradivarius and how Deeks had mumbled how it was an obvious fake once they left. Or on the rare days she let him have the radio he would more often than not put on the station that played quartet chamber music and how his fingers would twitch as they listened. Oh yeah, he wanted to play but she doubted she would ever get the chance to hear him.

* * *

Everyone had supposedly gone home for the night, which is why she found it so surprising to see a light on in the mission. Listening carefully, she could only just make out the sound of a violin coming from the gym. Her curiosity piqued, she quietly made her way towards the noise. Peeking inside, she was amazed to find her partner standing in the middle of the room, his eyes closed, violin in hand, far away in some other world as his fingers delicately gave the instrument expert instructions. Closing her eyes, Kensi could almost pick out the tune, Beethoven maybe?

As the piece got more intense, Deeks's body began to move with the violin, his movements becoming wild but controlled and his fingers and bow flying over the strings with an almost frightening intensity. It was truly a marvel to watch, she had no idea he was this good! Every note was flawless, every detail exactly as it should be. As the piece ended, Kensi had to refrain from actually clapping. Somehow that seemed like it would be the wrong thing to do.

Wiping the sweat from his brow, Deeks looked at the instrument in his hands, laughed, shook his head, and then turned to go. He stopped as he saw Kensi in the doorway.

"Kens!" He looked surprised and a little embarrassed. "I thought everyone had gone home. How long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough." She shrugged and moved towards him. He started to move towards the door.

"Look Kensi I...

"You're good Deeks, better than good actually." She crossed her arms, she wasn't letting him get away.

"You think so?" He stopped and studied her face, looking for any signs of mockery but finding none.

"Yeah I do, how come you never told me about this?" She asked. She could understand not telling anyone else. But dammit, she was not anyone else!

He shook his head. Her choice of words was not lost on him. "Because I don't want to like doing it Kens, I don't want to like doing what he wanted me to do." His voice was soft and hard all at the same time.

"Who?"

"My father, the second the bastard found out I could play he forced me to play for all his drunk ass friends and have them throw their empty bottles at me if I did it wrong." His voice shook with rage. "I don't play because I don't want to like doing what he made me do, it's the same reason I don't like being Max."

"Deeks." She gently touched his face. "What Max was and what your father was are terrible things."

She touched his hand that held the violin. "But this, this is something beautiful that came out of all that pain. You shouldn't hate playing because of your father, you should enjoy it because it's the one good thing you ever got from him."

She closed her hand around his and looked into his eyes. She would never tell him but he had a really gorgeous pair of eyes.

"You know." She finally said. "I've always wanted to learn how to play the violin."

His face broke into a soft grin. "Yeah? Well some people say I'm a pretty good teacher."

She returned the grin. "Why don't you teach me?"

* * *

**In Fact That's Where Music Comes From**


	8. In Fact That's Where Music Comes From

_Deeks teaches Kensi to play_

* * *

Kensi gently took the instrument from his hands and held it awkwardly. It took a lot for him to stifle a laugh, it was extremely obvious she had no idea how to hold it.

"Ok, now rest your chin on the base of the violin."

"I know that!" She snapped but still looked completely lost.

He chuckled and shook his head. "Here, let me help." He stepped behind her and guided her into place.

"Ok, now raise the arm that holds the bow." He moved her elbow up slightly. "There you go, you got that?"

She nodded and bit her lip, trying to ignore the warmth of his breath on her neck. His hand closed over hers and moved her fingers over the strings on the neck.

"Just hold those strings and press down with the bow." He softly muttered. "Now pull it back."

The violin emitted a screech, completely unlike the music Deeks had been making. They were silent for a few seconds before they both burst into peals of crippling laughter.

"Oh no I killed it!" Kensi moaned in between giggles while Deeks was working in catching his breath.

"That sounded like the beast dying at the end of a movie." He panted and wiped his eyes. She punched his arm but her face was still screwed up with laughter.

"Where did you even get this thing?" She asked, still slightly sputtering.

"Hetty gave it to me a while back." He shrugged. "Don't really have space for it at my place so I thought it would be safer here. Speaking of which, why are you here? It's gotta be after 10."

"I left my keys here, why did Hetty give you a violin, and a very nice looking violin at that?" She persisted, determined not to let this go.

"It was for nothing, no big deal. Why don't you try that again?" He attempted to brush it off, clearly uncomfortable about it but she soldiered on.

"Deeks come on, why did she give you a violin?"

He searched her face desperately, looking for an out but finding none. With a resigned sigh he looked at her dead on. "It was for my birthday." He said softly.

For a second she didn't get it, but then a lightbulb went off. His birthday, his birthday two years ago, the one she'd forgotten.

"Oh." She said quietly.

"Oh." He nodded slightly.

"Maybe we should continue that lesson now?" The shame and guilt evident in her voice.

"Definitely." He nodded and flashed her a cheeky grin to alleviate the tension. Thankfully that seemed to do the trick as she smiled back and replaced the violin to its proper place.

* * *

After another half hour of sounds that Deeks swore up and down did _not_ sound like someone boiling a live cat, Kensi decided to call it a night.

"I promise it wasn't that bad Kens, I'm sure none of our neighbors think we're mutilating children over here ." Deeks grinned. He knew it was a slightly low blow, but he could count on one hand the number of times his partner had failed, and even fewer when she admitted she failed, so he was going to enjoy it.

"Hey give me a break, I play piano, not this thing!" She defended herself, shaking the violin.

"You play piano?" Deeks looked at her with surprise. "Since when?"

"My dad taught me, he said that piano helped keep your mind sharp and your fingers nimble." She explained.

"Really? How nimble?" He moved closer and gave her a trademark Deeks grin that earned him another punch.

"Of course that's where your mind immediately goes." She rolled her eyes.

He shrugged and smiled. She returned the smile before noticing just how close to each other they were. The lack of physical space between them both frightened and excited the both of them.

"Maybe you could play for me sometime?" He whispered.

"Yeah, maybe." She nodded as her eyes drifted closed, his hand brushed back her hair, and they kissed. It felt, good. It felt really good actually. Not at all what the other was expecting, not quite anyway. Sure they'd kissed before, but that was undercover, or under duress with adrenaline pumping. This was different, it was sweeter, more natural.

They pulled apart when oxygen became a problem. His blue eyes peered into her mismatched ones, her deep, mysterious, and beautiful mismatched eyes.

"It's getting late." He said lamely. "You should probably get going."

She nodded slowly. "Yeah, probably." She handed him back the violin. "Thanks." She turned and started for the door.

"Hey Deeks?" She turned. "You think we could, maybe, do this again?" She stammered slightly.

He smiled. "Yeah Fern, that sounds good." He smiled and watched her leave, mentally kicking himself for letting her walk away again.

* * *

**Some of it's Just Transcendental**


	9. Some of it's Just Transcendental

_Kensi and Deeks go to the Opera_

* * *

"You ready for tonight Kens?" Deeks asked as he handed her her bag towards the end of a relatively boring work day.

"What's tonight?" Callen looked in between the two of them. For the most part the announcement that the two were dating had been the worlds worst kept secret, but that didn't mean that Sam and Callen hadn't taken on the task of putting the fear of god in Deeks. It had largely died down, but Sam still cracked his knuckles every time he caught Deeks with his arm around Kensi's waist.

"Deeks is taking me to the opera." Kensi smiled at Callen's surprised face.

"Deeks is taking you to the opera? Willingly?" His voice was dripping with disbelief as Sam walked in. "He's taking her to the opera tonight."

"Seriously? Deeks and Kensi?" The ex-seal asked, mirroring Callen's expression.

"Hey, _La Boheme_ is great. Besides, I've herd the restaurant at the Walt Disney Concert Hall is unbeatable." Deeks grinned. Callen chuckled and Sam rolled his eyes.

"Of course, of course that would be the reason you're taking her there." Sam groaned.

"What? Good food, great music, amazing woman, I think that's what's known as a trifecta." Deeks wrapped his arm around Kensi's waist, partly because of how much he loved her but also to raise Sam's blood pressure a point or two. "Plus I've been told that the 'after concert specialties' are out of this world." He winked, earning him a resounding punch from Kensi.

"You better leave right now before I beat the crap out of you." Sam threatened while Callen laughed merrily.

The couple was just about to leave when an all to familiar whistle pierced the air. The entire team groaned, Kensi and Deeks groaning the loudest of all.

"Seriously Eric?" Deeks asked.

"Dude, we have like, 10 minutes till we get to go home!" Sam wined.

Eric shrugged. "I'm sorry guys, I can't control when bad guys want to be bad." He looked apologetic while Sam looked apocalyptic.

Kensi and Deeks looked at each other before she gave a defeated shrug and they began moving to head upstairs.

"Just where do the two of you think you're going?" Hetty spoke up from behind them.

"Eric has a case for us." Kensi gestured to the techie who gave a small, mock salute.

"He has a case for Mr Hanna and Mr Callen, the two of you are going to the symphony." Hetty shook her head.

"But what about the case?" Deeks asked, squeezing his girlfriends hand.

"Mr Hanna and Mr Callen are two, more than capable agents who will have Ms Jones accompany them if they need it. Now go, I did not call in a favor with my godson for the two of you to get tickets to one of the few times an opera is performed at the Disney only to have you two not go." Hetty put a hand on her hip, a stance that from anyone else in the world probably wouldn't look half as intimidating as it did when she did it.

He didn't need to be told twice. Thanking the tiny woman profusely and shouting something about both their phones being off, Deeks waisted no time in dragging Kensi out the door. It was date night!

* * *

"What've we got Eric?" G asked as he and Sam walked in.

"Terrorist threat." Eric informed the team. "Thanks to some bureaucratic BS we only just got word that a member of the fragmented Brotherhood of Doubt is planning a bombing in LA. Tonight."

"Why the hell were we not informed of this until right now?" Sam fumed.

"A senator was holding a major fundraiser this afternoon at Griffith Observatory. If word leaked of a terrorist threat he was afraid that it would dry up the donating mood of his wealthy donors." Nell said, disdain and contempt dripping from her voice.

"Can't we arrest this guy for aiding and abetting a terrorist?" Callen asked. Few things pissed him off more than a politician putting innocent lives at risk for political gain.

"Let's focus on the task at hand for the moment." Hetty instructed. "Mr Beale, is there an intended target?"

"Unknown as of yet." He shook his head. "But there is a suspected Brotherhood safe house you can check out for info."

"Great, Sam and I will send you back whatever we find." Callen told him as he and his partner left.

"Address has been sent to your phones!" Eric called after them.

* * *

Kensi attempted to clasp her necklace with limited success as she gave herself a final once over in the mirror. Her makeup was minimal, her hair was messily yet elegantly styled, her dress was backless, black, and as short as her black heals were long, and her matching necklace and bracelet were silver. That is, they would be if she could only get the stupid thing on.

"Allow me." Deeks muttered in her ear as he helped her put on the finishing touches of her outfit before moving his hands down to her arms.

"You know, that dress would look beautiful crumpled up in a heap by my bed." He whispered as he began to kiss her neck, producing a slight chuckle of delight from Kensi. "Maybe we should just stay here."

"Easy tiger." Kensi smiled and slipped out of his grasp, resulting in a wine of protest from Deeks. "Hetty gave us the night off for this so we shouldn't waist it. Just think of this as an appetizer for later."

With a parting kiss on the lips, Kensi grabbed her clutch and sashayed out of the room. Deeks watched her go, paying special attention to just how deliciously short her dress was before emitting a low growl and bounding after her.

* * *

"Hey guys." Eric's voice came over the coms. "We've been combing through the data you sent back from the safe house."

"You have a target?" Callen asked as Sam blared his horn in the heavy Los Angeles evening traffic.

"Oh yeah, we've got bomb specs, blueprints, contingency plans, we've got everything." Eric told them.

"Everything except where the bomb is placed. It's a big building, we're trying to narrow down the places for it to hide." Nell interjected.

"Yeah, ok, great, what's the name?" Sam asked, the gnarled traffic making him irritable.

"It's the Walt Disney Concert Hall."

"Where Deeks and Kensi are." Sam's voice became grim as he punched the gas.

"Eric, Nell, try and reach them on their phones." He looked at Sam. "Let's go get 'em."

* * *

**Some of it's Just Really Dumb**


	10. Some of it's Just Really Dumb

_Kensi finds a video of Deeks's band_

* * *

To be fair if he had known she was actually looking for it he would have never admitted to her that a video existed and then he would have proceeded to call every one of his old band mates and secured the video from each of them so he could destroy every copy. But he didn't know she was looking so when she brought him home after he was hit by a suspects car (not his fault) and had decided to take it upon herself to snoop through a few forgotten boxes in his closet, he didn't give it a second thought.

He also, in a moment of extreme stupidity, didn't give a second thought to eating the last Twinkie in Kensi's stash.

He was going to pay dearly for that.

* * *

Deeks leaned back in his chair and smiled. It had been a good day, the bad guys had been foiled, the stollen material was returned to it's rightful owners, and no one had gotten seriously wounded so this day was going down as a win in his book. At least, it was until a the shrill blast of a whistle split the silence.

"Kensi has something she want to show us in OPS." Eric explained to the confused faces. Sam and Callen looked at Deeks who just shrugged, he had no idea of her plans.

"Gentlemen." Kensi stated as the three entered OPS, standing very much like a general addressing his troops. "This morning, at exactly 0952, my partner, Marty Deeks, did the unthinkable." She fixed a glare on him. "He stole my very last Twinkie from my emergency backup stash. There for, as payback, I am going to revile a very special anecdote from Deeks's past for you all to see."

She held up a video cassette tape for them to see. Deeks's eyes went wide. "Recognize this Deeks?"

Deeks made a move for the tape but Kenso was quicker. "That's very funny Fern, give it back."

"Oh no, you ate my last Twinkie." She shook her head.

"Wait, you said he ate it from your emergency backup stash, don't you have, like, three of those?" Sam asked her, chuckling.

"That's not the point. The point is he's my partner and he should know better." She smiled at Deeks before handing the video to Eric.

"Eric, Eric please! I'm begging you, DO NOT PUT UP THAT VIDEO!" Deeks pleaded. Was there a god or a deity he could pray to to make the floor open up and swallow him? Did Buddha do that?

He watched helplessly as the video loaded. It was old and the quality was poor, but you could still hear every word.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the annual battle of the bands!" The announcer on the video cried, followed by a roar from the crowd of school kids and maybe a parent or two. "Let's get right into it, first off we have, from right here in LA, Touching Wood!"

"Ok, that's quite enough, STOP THE VIDEO!" He pleaded. "Kensi this is not funny!"

"Too late Deeks, you shouldn't have eaten her last Twinkie." Callen told him. Sam just laughed.

"Thank you LA!" A grainy blob shouted. The voice was higher and the blob was shorter, but they could all still tell, it was Deeks. "ONE TWO THREE FOUR!"

As the god awful band started to play, Deeks put his head down on the table. Kensi smiled and looked at him, triumphantly. Sure it may have been a little much.

But he shouldn't have eaten her last Twinkie.

* * *

**But I Love it When you Sing to Me**


	11. But I Love it When you Sing to Me

_Deeks sings Kensi a lullaby after she has a nightmare_

* * *

Three months, it had been three hellish months since Afghanistan. Outwardly, Kensi was the same badass Blye that she always had been and could fool almost everyone that she was up to code physically as well as mentally.

Sometimes she even convinced herself.

It was only in the nights that any hint of her troubles emerged, for that was when the nightmares plagued her dreams. The only member of the team, other than Nate, that knew about the nightmares was Deeks and that was only because his bed was her bed. Every night he would be so patient, so understanding, so sickening. How could he possibly be able to bear this when not even she could do it? There were nights when she would cry out in her sleep and the only thing that would calm her would be when Deeks wrapped his strong arms around her and held her close. She hated being so weak, she hated that he was so patient and understanding, and she hated that she hated him for that. Why couldn't he just understand that he didn't have to go through this?

Why couldn't he just understand he could just leave?

But he didn't, of course he didn't. No matter what she did, or said, or screamed, he was always there.

"Just get out! You can't tell me it's going to be alright, you have no idea what I've been through!" She cried one night as they stood on opposite sides of the room after a particularly bad nightmare.

"No I don't!" He bellowed right back before dropping his voice. "I don't have any idea. Siderov was different, you are different, none of this is the same. I don't know what you've been through, so I'm not going to try to understand. I'm just gonna stand here. If you want to talk, talk to me. If you want to cry, use my shoulder. If you want to hit something, hit me. Hit me until all the pain and all the hate is gone. Just don't ask me to leave, because that's the one thing I will never, _never_, do to you." He told her gently.

For a moment it looked like she might do all of the above as a range of emotions raced across her face.

With a cry that was equal parts pain and anger she advanced at him with the full force of a speeding train. He didn't move, he just braced himself for the impact. But instead of hitting him she wrapped her arms tightly around him, buried her face in his shoulder, and started to cry. He didn't have to even think for a second, his arms just instinctively clasped around her tightly, holding her as though any looser and she'd break apart.

He made large circles on her back as she sobbed and began to sing softly in her ear.

_She may be the face I can't forget_

_A trace of pleasure or regret_

_May be my treasure or the price_

_I have to pay_

He didn't remember most of the lyrics, so he just hummed the parts he didn't know as he gently rocked her back and forth, letting her sobs slowly taper off into a slow trickle. Slowly he guided them back onto the bed and lay there holding her in his arms.

_Hmm, hmm, hmm, hum, hum, hum_

_May be hmm, hmm, hmm the feast_

_May turn each day into a heaven_

_Or a hell_

_Hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm, hmmm, hum, hum_

_Hmm, hmmm, hmmm, hum, hmmm_

_She may not be what she may seem_

_Inside her shell_

As she felt her eyelids begin to droop, Kensi realized that it didn't matter if he had failed her or if she'd failed him. What mattered was that he was here, now, holding her together through one of the hardest periods of her life, and for that she would forever remain indebted to him. As she let herself slip into dream world, she smiled and let Deeks's gentle voice guide her into the first nightmare free sleep she'd had in a long time.

_She may be the reason I survive_

_The why and wherefore I'm alive_

_The one I'll care for through the_

_Rough and rainy years_

_Me I'll take her laughter and her tears_

_And make them all my souvenirs_

_For where she goes I've got to be_

_The meaning of my life is she_

* * *

**And You Can Sing Me Anything**


	12. And You Can Sing Me Anything

_Conclusion to Kensi and Deeks's night at the opera_

* * *

As they sat in their front row, orchestra seats, for which Deeks was furiously thanking Hetty in his head, Kensi heard her phone go off. She turned to show him who was calling.

Nell.

"Uh uh, no work tonight." Deeks told her and pressed the ignore button on her phone.

She smiled, nodded, and attempted to steal some of his skittles. She was about to pop some into her mouth when her phone went off again. Deeks took her phone and looked at it.

"Eric." He told her, showing her the phone.

"Not tonight." She shook her head. Deeks smiled and handed her back her phone. No sooner had he done that then his own phone went off.

"Son of a bitch!" He swore, digging it out of his pocket. "It's Callen." He rolled his eyes at Kensi who just shrugged and nodded.

"Hey man, talk fast, the show's gonna start here in a few minutes."

"Deeks listen to me." Callen's worried voice came through the phone, instantly catching Deeks's attention. "There is a bomb being planted at the Concert Hall."

"Really mom, on date night?" Deeks kept his voice jovial. Kensi shot him a confused look. "Can't you and dad take care of it?"

"We're trying to get there but it looks like there was a huge accident on the highway making traffic impassible."

"What are the chances that that's not a coincidence?"

"I don't know, but it's possible." Callen looked at Sam.

"Makes sense, keep emergency personnel busy and block off the exit routes." Sam nodded.

"We need you and Kensi to try and locate the bomb, we'll be there as soon as we can. Call Eric for the details." Callen told him.

"Ok, I'll call Uncle Eric to wish him happy birthday. Bye mom." He ended the call and turned to Kensi who had the most puzzled face you ever did see. "Kensilina darling, you seem to be low on skittles, we should go get some more." He stood and offered her his hand. She took it, still confused but trusting that he knew what he was doing.

"Want to explain?" She asked as soon as they were clear of the theater.

"Oh Fern, I love it when you talk like that." Deeks laughed as he pulled her close and whispered what was happening in her ear under the guise of sweet nothings.

Kensi gave him a little nod before smiling seductively and pulling him into a supply closet.

"Really? Kens if I knew bombs made you all sexy like I would have taken advantage of this a long time ago." Deeks smirked.

"Can it Deeks." She told him as she pulled out her phone and dialed Eric. "Go Eric."

"Ok guys." He began. "Nell and I went over the specs for the bomb and compared them to the Disney's blueprints and we've determined that the best place for them to put a bomb of that size to generate the largest..."

"Boiler room under the stage." Nell interjected. "Blueprints have been sent to your phones." Even through the phone Kensi could feel the look Nell was giving her fellow tech.

"Thanks guys." Kensi said before snapping her phone shut and looking at Deeks. "Let's go."

* * *

As they neared the room, Kensi reached into her clutch and produced a gun.

"Seriously Kens, you brought a gun on date night?"

She cocked an eyebrow. "You didn't?"

He grinned and produced his gun from his waistband behind his back. "Force of habit."

Once they both got into position, Kensi gave Deeks a little nod.

"Federal agents!" They both yelled as they entered the room, guns drawn.

The three men scattered and began shooting at Kensi and Deeks as the couple ducked behind equipment.

Deeks lost track of one guy as he nailed one of them in the chest. The other popped up from his cover place to take a shot and promptly fell back as Kensi put two well placed bullets in his skull.

"Nice shooting Tex!" He grinned at her.

"You too." She smiled at him. "Come on, let's go find the other guy."

* * *

They split up and began searching the twists and turns of the boiler room. From up above, Deeks could make out the soprano singing '_Sì, mi chiamano Mim_ì', her first aria in the show and one of his favorites. Oh how he longed to be upstairs with Kensi, watching the show. Too bad the bad guys never seemed to have the same idea.

On the other side of the room, Kensi was having similar thoughts. What were the odds that the bad guys would choose to blow up the Disney on the night of the first time she and Deeks had been on a date since admitting their relationship to the team? The whole thing was ridiculous! But, then again, when had any aspect of their lives been called anything else?

As she looked around a corner, she heard the soft click of a gun behind her. With a sinking feeling in her stomach she turned to see the suspect, gun aimed at her, and a sadistic smile on his face.

"I love this aria, especially the end. Do you know why?" His eyes twinkled with a murderous gleam. "Because at the end, the notes are high enough to mask the sound of a bullet killing a pretty federal agent."

Kensi shut her eyes, the music swelled.

_**BANG**_!

After a second her eyes snapped open. She wasn't dead, she wasn't even injured. She looked and saw the man lying on the floor, very dead, a gunshot wound to his temple seeping blood, and her partner with his gun raised.

"Well he was right about the ending." He gave her a weak smile. She just nodded before running to him and clasping him in a vice like hug.

"Thank you." She whispered as Sam and Callen made their entrance.

"Well it's about time!" Deeks said as he noticed the pair. "You guys take care of the bomb?"

Sam nodded. "Looks like they didn't get the chance to arm it before you guys showed up. We should be able to get it out of here without alerting the upper echelons upstairs."

"Speaking of which, don't you two have a musical to get too?" Callen asked them.

"An opera, don't confuse the two." Deeks grinned as he looked at Kensi who just smiled back at him. "And yes, yes we do."

* * *

After the opera wrapped up, which, Kensi had to admit, was utterly amazing, Deeks lead Kensi back to his car, his jacket draped over her shoulders.

"That was fun. We should do that again." Kensi told him as she slid into his car.

"I agree, but next time we leave out the bit with the crazed bombers with guns." Deeks caressed her hand with his thumb.

"Definitely." She agreed and leaned across to kiss him. Who were they kidding? Where ever they went, crazy was sure to follow. But as she savored the taste of his lips on hers, she knew that as long as she had him to watch her back, everything would be just fine.

* * *

**The Book of Love is Long and Boring**


	13. The Book of Love is Long and Boring 2

_Stakeout redux_

* * *

"Have I mentioned how much I hate stakeouts?" Deeks asked as he watched the house through binoculars.

"All day or just in the past 15 minutes?" Kensi asked, not taking her eyes off of the magazine in her lap.

"Seriously though, they're the most boring thing in the world." He groaned. From the back seat of the Cadillac, Monty yipped in agreement.

"See, even Monty agrees with me." Deeks rubbed the dogs head.

"He probably just has to go use a tree." She deadpanned as she moved her hand to change the radio.

"Hey, hey, whoa what are you doing Kens? You know Monty prefers NPR." Deeks swatted her hand away.

"Seriously Deeks? He's a dog, talking voices all sound the same."

"Oh really?" He smiled and flipped the radio to another talk show. The response from Monty was immediate as he yipped and whined until Deeks turned the radio back with a smug smile directed at Kensi.

"Remind me again why he's even here?" She huffed.

"Uh, ok. A) he is an honorary member of this team and B) a couple with a dog is a lot less conspicuous than a couple without. It makes us appear less threatening." Deeks explained.

"Whatever." She muttered. "But if he takes a crap in my back seat you can sleep with him on the couch.

He grinned and kissed her temple. It had been one blissful month since there 'thing' had been acted upon and, if he was being honest, Deeks would say that it had been the best month of his life.

"Ok Monty." He turned to the dog. "What do you think? The Russian ice boxing league is totally fake but I'm on the fence about the Iranian Graceland and the Las Vegas casino owner declaring his casino an independent nation."

Kensi shot him a look. "Ok, now you have officially gone crazy."

"What? It's 'Wait Wait Don't Tell Me'. Monty has guessed correctly the past 8 times in a row." He justified.

"Can't you just be quiet for five minutes?"

"I can't help it, I hate stakeouts. Stakeouts are boring." Deeks wined.

"If you're bored go take Monty for a surveillance walk." She suggested.

"Come one Kens, I'm dying here." He pleaded.

"Ok, would you like to here about my visit to the gynecologist?" She smiled sweetly at him.

"I think I'm gonna go take Monty for a walk." He blushed and grabbed the leash out from under his seat.

"Good choice."

* * *

"See anything?" Kensi asked Deeks as he slid into the passenger seat after depositing Monty into the backseat.

"Oh yeah, the family two doors down is living way beyond their means." He shook his head. "Seriously, who drives a $40,000 Mercedes in this neighborhood?"

She whacked him on the shoulder. "The suspect, Deeks. About the suspect!"

"Still no movement from inside the house." He reported.

"Seriously? It's after noon." Kensi furrowed her brow.

"Well she's been working as a school teacher days and a cartel leader nights. That would tire anyone out." He shrugged.

"No, no something's off." She shook her head

"What're those famously honed Blye instincts telling you?"

"That you and Month need matching muzzles." She grinned.

"Ok, slightly hurtful. What about the suspect?"

"I think we should go check it out." She opened her door.

"Good thinking." Deeks nodded and began to roll down the windows. Kensi looked at him in annoyance.

"Deeks what are you doing?"

"What? It's LA in the summer, that means it's hot. I'm giving Monty some air."

The rolled her eyes dramatically as he went back to his task.

"I swear, sometimes I think you care about that dog more than me."

"Oh come now Fern, you know that's not true." He smiled and whispered in her ear.

"And you show the bite marks to prove it."

It was all he could do not to bust out laughing as she quickly scanned all visible skin for the offending marks. Finding none, she shot him a death glare and started walking towards the house. Deeks chuckled and followed behind, his eyes inevitably drawn the the bite mark she hadn't been able to find on the back of her left shoulder.

Just because she couldn't see it, didn't mean it wasn't there.

* * *

**And Written Very Long Ago**


	14. And Written Very Long Ago

_Elderly Deeks and Kensi_

* * *

As the nurse entered the room, tray of medicine in hand, Martin Deeks gave a long, drawn out sigh. Right on time. Every four hours, on the hour, a strict regiment of pills. Pills for his heart, for his kidneys, for his blood pressure, for his memory, for his cholesterol, and for just about anything else they made pills for.

"Alright Mr. Deeks, it's time for your 4:00 medicine." The nurse (Carly? Carrie?) said as she set the tray down on the table beside his bed. At least this one was pretty, the last nurse he'd had was a stout, militant, battle ax of a woman in her mid forties. Once upon a time he would have charmed this new girl into a perfectly satisfying one night stand. Of course, that was nearly 70 years ago, and it was before she had walked into his life. He sighed. It had been almost 10 years now since a heart attack took her from him and the hurt was still just as fresh as the day he had lost her for good.

Kensi, Kensilina, Fern, his best friend, his partner, his wife, the mother of his children, and the love of his life. God he missed her, he missed her every day. If it wasn't for their children and grandchildren he wasn't sure if he'd have made it. He was the last of the team left, apart from Nell.

Hetty had disappeared on a mountain climbing expedition on Mount Everest shortly after his and Kensi's daughters fourth birthday. To this day he wasn't 100% convinced she was actually dead.

A few years later, Callen had gone out in a blaze of glory, succumbing to wounds gotten after he had single handedly battled his way through a throng of gun wielding bad guys and managed to stop a nuclear bomb from going off in downtown LA.

Sam had made it to a golden retirement to be spent with his family. The ex-Seal had passed away in his sleep some years ago with his wife by his side.

Finally Eric had succumbed to a brain aneurism last year while teaching advanced computer science at Caltech. His death had devastated Nell, but she was getting through it by choosing not to let widowhood get her down and living it up with a group of friends down in Santa Barbara.

"Mister Deeks, just swallow these and then take a drink." The nurse (Goddamn it Deeks, what is her name?) held out a handful of pills and a cup of water.

"I don't want any more pills." He muttered, waving away her hands. She smiled sympathetically.

"I know Marty, I know. But it's not up to you, it's the decision of your children and they want you to keep taking the pills."

"I'm tired of the pills, I'm tired of the whole thing." He told her. "I'm tired of going on without her."

"You'll see her again some day." She told him and placed the pills in his wrinkled hand. "But I'm not leaving until you swallow your medication."

He muttered something under his breath as he swallowed the pills and handed her back the glass.

"Good, I'll come back to check on you in about an hour." She gave him a warm smile and quietly slipped out of the room.

Deeks leaned his head back and closed his eyes. He was tired, he was just so, so tired.

"I always knew you would get uglier with age." A familiar voice came from his bed side. Deeks smiled and opened his eyes. By his bedside sat Kensi, his Kensi, looking exactly as she did when he first met her all those years ago.

"Hey Fern." He muttered. Whatever this new medication they were giving him was, it was absolutely fantastic!

She smiled back at him. "Hey Max." She said softly and stroked his hand. "How're you feeling?"

"Better now." He smiled. "Am I..."

She shook her head. "No, not yet. But very soon though."

He chuckled. "Wow Kens, you sure know how to make a guy feel good."

"Shut up before I punch you in your bullet hole."

He chuckled at the familiar banter. He'd missed this, it felt good.

"How're the kids?" She asked him.

"Dom is doing good, he just got promoted to LAPD detective. Following in his daddy's footsteps." He told her.

She smiled and shook her head. "And Alice?"

"Pregnant with our third grandchild." He grinned. "She and John said they want to give Andrew a niece."

Kensi's eyes filled with tears. She tried to wipe them away quickly but he saw them first, he always saw them.

"Hey, no tears." He cupped her cheek with his hand. He noticed that his hand and arm looked younger, more like the limb he'd had 70 years ago. "We did good."

She sniffed and covered his hand with hers. "Yeah, yeah we did."

She reached out and stroked his hair. It was long again. Dimly he remembered that it hadn't been long in years, but right now he didn't care. "I missed this." She whispered.

"I missed you, I still do." He said softly. "I love you Kensi."

"I love you too Deeks." She looked at him tenderly before standing. "You ready?" She held out her hand.

"Is it time?" He asked, his voice catching just a little.

"It is." She nodded.

"Will you be with me?" He looked into her eyes, her soft and beautiful eyes.

"Always."

He smiled and took her hand as she helped him to his feet. His body was strong and lean again, his face handsome and scruffy. He looked back at the old and withered body in the bed, his eyes closed, a small smile on his lips.

"Come on Marty, everyone's waiting."

He turned back to her and smiled broadly. An eternity with his friends, with his family, with his Kensi.

Now that sounded pretty good to him.

* * *

**It's Full of Flowers and Heart Shaped Boxes**


	15. Full of Flowers and Heart Shaped Boxes

**Valentines Day**

* * *

"Deeks?" She called when she got home. She didn't know what he had done but shortly after a lunch with Callen and Sam, a lunch that she had been unable to attend due to a mountain of paper work Hetty had given her, Deeks had been sent home early. It was weird not having her partner slash boyfriend slash man she was hopelessly in love with there to banter with all afternoon, and she didn't like it, she didn't like it one bit.

When she got home, she was even more confused. She called his name yet there was no answer. His car was here, his phone was on the table beside the door, Monty was lounging on the sofa, so where was Deeks?

"Hey Monty, have you seen daddy?" She asked as she scratched the lovable mutt behind the ears. As she did so, a note taped to his collar caught her eye. It had two words.

'Our place.'

Kensi rolled her eyes and smiled, well duh! She should have thought of that one first. With a slight bounce in her step, she made the short jog from their apartment to the little inlet on the beach that they had found one day. It was private, cut off by some rocks that would deter most tourists, but not the likes of them. Lately it had been the place they would go when they needed to talk, or not talk at all, or just to be alone and together. It was jut such a uniquely 'them' spot.

With the sun setting over the ocean, she found him standing by the waters edge, bouquet of roses in hand, all dressed up in a button down shirt and nice jeans, and a black bag at his feet.

"Hey handsome." She kissed him and he handed her the flowers. "What's all this?"

He laughed. "You really have no idea what today is Kens?"

Kensi quickly scanned her mental calendar.

His birthday? No, they'd just had that.

Anniversary? No, that was in May.

Her birthday? Give her a break.

At her obviously lost look, he smirked. "Well, granted it's kind of hard to tell by the weather in LA, but is is February. The 14th of February to be exact." He cocked an eyebrow.

Kensi's eyes went wide. "Oh my god, I am so sorry Deeks! I can't believe I forgot, I didn't even..."

He silenced her by pressing his lips to hers. When air became a problem they pulled apart and she was met with his kind, loving eyes.

"I figured you forgot Kens, which is why I didn't. And I don't expect you to do anything for me for valentines day, I just want you here with me." He wrapped his arms around her waist. "Can you do that?"

She but her lip and smiled. "Yeah, I can do that." She nodded as he drew her in for another kiss before turning to look out across the water, his arms still around her waste, his head resting on her shoulder.

For the longest time the two of them just watched the sunset, not speaking. They just stood there, listening to the waves and enjoying the feeling of being together. Finally it was Kensi who broke the silence.

"So what was so important that you had Hetty give me extra work so you could go out to lunch with the guys?" She asked him. At his faked wounded look she laughed. "Yes I know it was you, now fess up!"

"I needed to ask them something." He shrugged.

"Oh really? Like what?"

Instead of answering, Deeks just smiled and bent down to pull out a heart shaped box of chocolate from the bag.

"I've also got take out, cronuts, glasses, and what Hetty said was an excellent champagne in here." He told her as he held out the box.

She grinned and gladly took the chocolate box from him, tearing it open to reveal the delectable morsels and diamond ring inside.

Wait, ring?

She did a double take. Sure enough, stuck in the center of the middle chocolate was a beautiful gold band with a single, brilliant cut diamond mounted on it. Wordlessly she plucked the ring from the chocolate and turned to Deeks.

"I've been waiting for weeks for the absolute perfect moment to ask this." He admitted to her. "But then I realized that every moment with you is a perfect moment, every day with you is a perfect day, and every instant without you is the most painful year of my life. I don't know the exact moment when I realized I loved you, but as I look back on the time that I've known you, I don't think there was ever a time that I didn't."

He took the ring from her fingers and got down on one knee.

"You are the one person in the world who means the absolute most to me, and so I need to ask you. Kensi Marie Blye, will you marry me?"

* * *

**And Things We're All To Young to Know**


	16. And Things We're All Too Young to Know

**Baby**

* * *

"Hush little baby don't say a word, mamma's gonna buy you a mockingbird." Kensi looked down at the tiny life in her arms as she bounced from side to side in the middle of the nursery.

5lbs 8oz, 4 weeks old, blue eyes, blonde curls, ten fingers, ten toes, her moms patience, his grandmas laugh.

Two parents who loved him and each other unconditionally, three uncles who would protect him from every monster, two aunts who gushed over him at every opportunity, one grandmother who adored him, even a great aunt who never missed an opportunity to hold him like the child she never had.

"Hush little baby, don't say a word. Mamma's gonna buy you a mockingbird."

Her job had taught her that life was unpredictable. You never knew when a bomb might go off or a loved one might die, and that was scary.

But you also never knew when you were going to meet your partner. When you meet that one person who makes all the bad things in life ok. So not all the unpredictable things were bad. Her husband was unpredicted (and unpredictable), her son was the same, and those things were good, so very, very good.

"Hey." A voice whispered and two strong arms wrapped themselves around her waist. "You get him to sleep."

"Getting there." She whispered as he planted a kiss on her cheek. "Hush little baby, don't say a word. Mamma's gonna buy you a mockingbird."

He smiled at the simple nursery rhyme and let his body rock gently with hers.

"Has it hit you yet?" She asked.

Deeks smiled and shook his head. "No, not really. You?"

"I think so." She nestled their son a little closer to her body. "We're parents Deeks."

"Yeah, yeah we are." He softly kissed her on the top of her head.

"What time is mom coming over tomorrow?"

"She'll be here at eight, it's gotta happen eventually Kens."

She sighed. "Yeah, I know. I just don't know how I'm going to be able to go back to work and leave this little guy here." She cuddled the baby in her arms.

"I know, it'll be hard. But you can call in every couple of minutes to check on him." He told her. "Plus you'll have me. So that seems like a pretty good tradeoff."

She paused, as if considering for a moment, before making a face and shaking her head. "I want my money back."

He chuckled. "Sorry Kens, all refunds must occur within 30 days of purchase. I'd say you're about two years too late for that."

"Shoot." She fake pouted. "I guess I'm stuck with you then."

"And you are never, ever going to get rid of me." He told her softly. "I'm not going anywhere."

"You better not." Her voice was serious but so was he. Almost every other man in her life had left her in someway at some point, but not him.

"I won't. I made a promise." He rubbed her arms. "I love you Kensilina."

She smiled and nuzzled his neck before turning her attention back to the newborn.

"Hush little baby, don't say a word. Mamma's gonna buy you a mockingbird." She sang again. Deeks gave her an amused look. "What? Those are the only lyrics I know."

Deeks chucked and pulled her closer. Although she couldn't see them, when Dominik gave a yawn she was almost certain the LAPD detective had tears in his eyes.

Her baby, his baby, their baby, their child, their son. Momma's boy, daddy's boy, little mutant ninja assassin fighting for justice.

"Hush little baby, don't say a word. Mamma's gonna buy you a mockingbird."

* * *

**But I Love it When You Give Me Things**


	17. But I Love it When You Give Me Things

**Kensi gives Deeks a present**

* * *

She had been pacing back and forth across the mission for a good 20 minutes and Callen was almost certain he could see a rut forming in the floor.

"Kens will you just calm down?" He admonished her.

"What if he doesn't like it? What if he gets mad?" She wrung her hands and continued to pace.

"Seriously? It's Deeks." He looked at her incredulously.

She shot him a searing look. Callen raised his hands.

"Ok, ok, fine. If, on the one in a 100 billion percent chance that he's anything but elated about this, Sam and I will take him out behind the mission and beat some sense into him."

She nodded before letting out a frustrated groan. "Where is Deeks?"

"Isn't it a little early for the hormones to start?" Callen muttered under his breath.

"What was that?" The tone of her voice told him that answering truthfully would shorten his life by several decades.

"He was probably commenting how it's weird that you still call him Deeks after being married for over a year." Sam suggested as he walked into the bullpen. "Seriously dude?" He mouthed to his partner who shot him a look that announced he was anything but amused.

"Well I'm used to Deeks dammit!" She just about bit Sam's head off. "Marty doesn't sound right!"

"Might I interject for a moment Ms Blye?" Hetty asked as she came up behind her. Legally her last name was Blye-Deeks, but they soon found that it was a mouthful for the little woman to pronounce, so she was still Ms Blye to Hetty. And besides, Agent Deeks and Agent Blye-Deeks had the potential to get really confusing really fast.

"I just thought you might find it of use to know that Mr Deeks just called to say that he has been held up by traffic and will be later than usual in arriving this morning." Hetty cocked an eyebrow. "He also said that he'd texted you to tell you but you never responded."

Kensi snatched her phone off her desk, full prepared to refute her statement, only to have it die in her throat at the 3 missed text's from 'He Who Drives Me Mad'. She huffed and resumed her pacing.

Callen sighed. "Please Deeks, get here soon!" He silently pleaded.

* * *

Twenty minutes later found the team in much the same positions as they were before except Callen looked like he was about to snap and Sam just sat at his desk looking amused.

"Hey everybody!" Deeks called as he waltzed into the bullpen. At the sight of him Kensi's entire demeanor changed. Her eyes lit up and her face broke out in a smile as she moved to kiss her husband hello.

"Hey beautiful." He kissed her.

"Hey yourself. I thought you were stuck in traffic?"

"Strangest thing, I was sitting in this line of cars at a series of red lights when, all of a sudden, every single light between me and the mission turned green and stayed green until after I'd gone through them. Now how do you suppose that happened?" He looked at her with mock question.

Kensi glanced up at OPS only to catch a brief glimpse of a red pixie cut and a pair of board shorts.

She smiled and lead him over to his desk. On top of it sat a little box wrapped in green foil with a red bow on top. "What's this?"

"It's a box." She said as she picked it up and handed it to him.

"Seriously Kens?" He smiled and turned the gift over in his hands. "What's the occasion?"

"No occasion, it's just something I wanted to give you."

"Well why couldn't you have given it to me this morning while you were in that delightful contortionist position?" He asked with a smirk.

"Because her brothers are here." Sam said gruffly. It didn't matter how long they had been together, he did not want to hear about their sexual exploits in any context at any time. "And we already know what's in the box."

"How come they already know? That's no fair!" Deeks whined and did his best to look hurt.

"Just open the box Deeks." Sam told him.

Deeks looked at the box in his hands and looked at Kensi before a smile broke out across his face. "You know, this makes the third box to come across my desk and I didn't open the other two for a long time. Maybe I should just leave this one alone."

"For the love of god Deeks just open the damn box!" Callen shouted. Sam snorted violently, threw his head back, and began laughing in that very special way that let no sound come out and left him looking like a trained seal. Without another word Deeks tore at the wrapping paper and opened the box inside.

For a long time he stood absolutely still, just looking into the box. Kensi couldn't get a read on his face, she couldn't tell if he was happy or angry or sad or excited. Although she was trying very hard not to show it, onside she was freaking out. Kensi looked at Callen, Callen looked across the room at Hetty, Hetty looked as Sam, Sam looked at Deeks, and Deeks just kept staring to the box.

Because inside the box was a pregnancy test.

A used pregnancy test.

A used pregnancy test marked with a little pink plus sign.

Finally Deeks looked at Kensi, no one else, just Kensi.

"Are you really?" He asked quietly. She nodded and he looked back in the box for a second before his face was split by an enormous smile.

"We're pregnant." She bit her lip and nodded. "We're pregnant!" He cried happily as he scooped her into his arms and whirled her around.

Sam sighed with relief and looked at Callen who looked like he had just come off the wrong side of a bull fight.

It was good, everyone was good. The road ahead for all of them would be long and hard, but right now everything was perfect, and for now that was enough.

* * *

**And You Ought to Give Me Wedding Rings**


	18. And You Ought to Give Me Wedding Rings

**Deeks and Kemsi, first dance**

* * *

The candles on every table glowed softly in the warm Los Angeles night, casting flickering shadows all over the deserted dance floor from their hurricane lamps. A gentle sea breeze filtered through the open sides of the big white tent, passing over the remains of the wedding party. An hour or so ago the tables in the beachside tent were packed full of NCIS agents, LAPD detectives, retired Navy Seals, and the good friends and family of the bride and groom. But by now all the guests had gone home, the cake had been cut, the presents loaded into the car, and the band was packing up their instruments.

At one of the deserted tables, amidst the after party of dirty plates and forgotten drinks, there sat a man with his suit jacket flung over the back of the chair and his tie undone and just hanging around his neck. He was alone, his eyes were closed in thought, but he was smiling. It had been the first time he'd been alone in the last 24 hours and right now he was just enjoying the sound of the pounding surf, resting just beyond his field of vision in the dark night. At the sound of footsteps he opened his eyes.

"I know that look." She said, her white dress flowing back and forth in the breeze. "What's on your mind?" She asked as she sat down in the chair beside him, crossing her long tanned legs.

He smiled gently and gazed at her. "You." He reached out and took her hand, stroking the back of hot with his thumb. "I was thinking about you, thinking about me, thinking about us, what we're gonna be."

She scoffed and rolled her eyes, but her eyes were full of merriment. "Don't tell me, you opened you're eyes and saw it was only just a dream?"

"God I hope not, cause that would really ruin my plans for the honeymoon." He smirked and studied her face. "You look so beautiful."

"When I first walked down the aisle I was afraid I was going to pass out." She blushed.

"Really? Well that's good, because when I first saw you walk down the aisle I was sure I was going to be the one face first in the sand." He laughed and she laughed, it was an easy thing. They later to the surf together for a few minutes, his thumb still tracing patterns on her hand.

Finally she spoke up. "You know, mister Deeks, with all the craziness of the wedding and the reception I'm not sure I ever got to actually dance with you."

"What're you talking about Kens? Have you already forgotten our incredibly impressive domination at the wobble?" His face showed hurt but his eyes were filled with merry merry mischief.

"I meant together you doofus." She hit him across the arm. "Just you and me, alone on the floor." She studied the half empty champagne glass in front of her with great intensity. "You know, our first dance."

He stayed silent for a second . "Well, that's an easy fix."

He stood up and held out his hand. She looked at it questioningly.

"Deeks, what is this?"

"You wanted a first dance, so let's dance." He shrugged and offered his hand again, which she took after a moments hesitation.

"Deeks you're crazy, no one's here." She protested but offered up no resistance as he pulled her out onto the makeshift dance floor.

"You're here, I'm here." He countered, his voice soft, each vowel and consonant caressing her body as he pulled her close. "That's all that really matters."

She giggled. "There's no music."

"Well we've got a pretty good beat to move to." He jerked his head in the direction of the surf. "Shall we?"

As they began to sway back and forth, the vocalist and the cello player took note. As the cellist began to play, one of the violinists unpacked his instrument to join in. Then the pianist, then the other violinist, and finally the vocalist began to croon as the band watched the newlyweds move across the floor.

_The book of love is long and boring_

_No one can lift the damn thing_

_It's full of charts and facts, some figures and instructions for dancing_

_But I,_

_I love it when you read to me._

_And you,_

_You can read me anything._

_The book of love has music in it,_

_In fact that's where music comes from._

_Some of it is just transcendental,_

_Some of it is just really dumb._

_But I,_

_I love it when you sing to me._

_And you,_

_You can sing me anything._

_The book of love is long and boring,_

_And written very long ago._

_It's full of flowers and heart-shaped boxes,_

_And things we're all too young to know._

_But I,_

_I love it when you give me things._

_And you,_

_You ought to give me wedding rings._

_And I,_

_I love it when you give me things._

_And you,_

_You ought to give me wedding rings._

_You ought to give me wedding rings._

* * *

**Fins**


End file.
